Villagers living in fear of ‘Asbo’ cat

A CAT which terrified a community and put a pensioner in hospital has returned home – after he was found 34 miles away.

Oscar, a five-year-old Turkish Van puss, has been terrorising his community []

Residents breathed a sigh of relief when Oscar, a five-year-old Turkish Van, went missing.

They have dubbed him the “Asbo cat” and want him to be on his best behaviour. But just in case, they have armed themselves with water pistols.

People in Wingrave, Bucks, thought they had finally seen the back of him when he vanished on October 17.

But Oscar has returned after he was found to be attacking other cats and stealing their food in Northampton.

It is believed the animal had hopped onto the back of a van which then took him on the 34-mile journey.

Owner Caroline Hughes, 36, yesterday said she was contacted by vets after Oscar was picked up.

She said: “ When I got the call, I asked ‘is he OK and alive?’. The vet said ‘he’s very much alive and causing problems’.

Villagers say they have armed themselves with water pistols

“I said ‘that’s Oscar, he’s OK’. It seems ironic now that it was his notorious bad behaviour from the past that brought him back to me. Life just wasn’t the same without him.”

Villagers say they have armed themselves with water pistols to help fend off the aggressive moggy.

Oscar earned his reputation after hospitalising resident Tom Ridgway, 77, for a week in May after severely scratching his face.

After being savaged by the so-called “lion cat of Wingrave” he said: “Our cats are more concerned than we are, because they are frightened of him. I shall get my water pistol out and reload it. There are two or three people in the area that now have water pistols.

“The hit teams in the village had been stood down, whether they’ll be reinstated we’ll see. It depends on how Oscar behaves.”

One villager, who asked not to be named, said: “If it had been a dog that attacked a human it would have been put down.

“Children can’t walk down the alley to the school. They all know about the cat and they are all frightened.”